Tomlin already anticipating 'fireworks' vs. Pats

The franchise unveiled a $26.6 million renovation of the US Assure Club seating areas, the first phase in a $90 million project to the facility that will include a 5,000 seat amphitheater and covered practice field for the team. The final two structures will be completed in May.

The new club seating areas are complete and will debut when the Jaguars host Tampa Bay on Aug. 20 in their second preseason game.

There are 18,780 square foot walkout patios at the 50 yard line for fans to enjoy the game. EverBank Field, opened in 1995 in the team's inaugural season, is the only stadium in the NFL to feature the distinctive patios.

"I'm really pleased with the transformation," Jaguars president Mark Lamping said. "It happened over a really short period of time. Five months ago, the Monster Jam event was here. People that have been around the stadium for a number of years say it has a totally different feel. The impact of creating the connection between the Club and the seating bowl is really important."

The upgrade is the latest at the stadium under Khan. He purchased the team from founders Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver in 2011 for $760 million. Since then, Khan invested in new locker room and training areas, two gigantic video boards, pools, cabanas and other amenities in the stadium.

This latest project increases Khan's investment in the city owned stadium to roughly $76 million, with the city's hotel bed tax paying the remainder. Earlier this month, Forbes valued the Jaguars at $1.48 billion.

"This makes about $170 million, with the rest of the project, that has been invested in re imagining EverBank Field," Lamping said. "I've always believed, and thankfully Shad agrees, when you have an aging facility it's even more important that you invest so the facility can evolve and fans can look forward to what's the next thing that will happen. What will happen between now and next spring will be even more impactful."

The club renovation added space for fans, but brought down the club seat capacity by 2,700 to 8,602 steelers jersey cheap and EverBank Field's capacity to 64,428.

Temporary bleachers will be brought in to replace the lost seats for the annual Florida Georgia game.

Lamping believes the club seats will be sold out to season ticket holders by the regular season opener against visiting Green Bay on Sept. 11.

"We have 520 or so tampa bay buccaneers jerseys cheap total between the two clubs, so we've sold over 8,100," Lamping said. "To sell 500 600 club seats between now and the regular season is reasonable."

Lamping is also encouraged by how season ticket sales are progressing.

"We're ahead of where we were last year and feel good," Lamping said. "We'll be in the mid 40,000s, which is ahead of last year and a good number for us."

The Jaguars are still waiting to see what winning can accomplish in terms of greater fan interest. The team is 14 50 since Khan purchased the team.

"This [stadium upgrades] is not the number one priority for Shad or the organization," Lamping said. "The priority is to win more football games. The adjustments being made to the stadium are still important, but it's not as important. We think EverBank Field is in a much better position to cowboys jerseys for sale support a sustainable, successful NFL franchise and also be the type of facility that can attract world class events to Jacksonville. We're in a better position to do that today than three years ago."

US Assure chairman Ty Petway has a unique perspective on the club project. He has been attending games since the Jaguars' first season.

"This was kind of a dark, inside area," Petway said. "You didn't know the game was going on outside. There's natural eagles throwback jersey light coming in here now. Tying the game and the club together was a really big thing."

The new entrance in the South End Zone also presents opportunities for EverBank Field, besides being the final stop on the team's Prowl when it takes the field.

"It's part of the amphitheater project," Lamping said. "The primary reason was to make the facility work better for other events. If we hosted a music festival here with multiple stages, the amphitheater, the flex field and the main stage on the field. The problem with having concerts on the field in most stadiums is it's hard to get the customers on and off. That gives us the ability to very efficiently get fans on and off the field. It makes it a better site for other events, especially music festivals."

Jacksonville City Council president Lori Boyer attended the opening and said the renovation keeps EverBank Field "fresh and relevant." She also pointed out the money the city paid for the project comes directly from the hotel bed tax and does not take money away from the basic needs of the community.

In all, the club seat renovation covered 135,000 square feet, with 55,148 square feet of tile placed. There were 160 planes of glass installed and 2,950 cubic yards of concrete poured. The Jaguars said 88 percent of the building materials were purchased within 150 miles of the city to support local businesses.